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Blue Jackets select Alexander Wennberg at No. 14

by
Rob Mixer
/ Columbus Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The pick is in.

With the No. 14 overall selection in the NHL Draft, the Blue Jackets selected Alexander Wennberg from Djurgarden in Sweden's second division league. Wennberg, a native of Stockholm, is listed at 6-foot-1 and 174 lbs., and is a left-shooting center who is widely regarded as a good skater with strong hockey sense.

That's what the Blue Jackets and GM Jarmo Kekalainen have valued: competitive players who think the game at a high level, and that's one of the attributes scouts really like about Wennberg's game.

Wennberg is a two-time representative of Sweden at the World Junior tournament, winning silver both times, most recently in 2013 in Ufa, Russia. He knows Blue Jackets goaltending prospect Oscar Dansk very well, having been a teammate of his on the Swedish national team.

He played 46 games for Djurgarden last season and was second among all junior-age players with 14 goals. He's slated to play for Frolunda of the Swedish Elite League this coming season, where Blue Jackets prospect Anton Forsberg is also on the roster.

Here's a quick NHL.com scouting report on Wennberg:

"Alexander improved a lot during the season since he had a big role and was a workhorse with good offensive instincts. He's not flashy but a very skilled, mature, smart and solid forward. He likes to go straight for the net and has a quick release."